People Who Buy Instagram Followers 〈8K〉

He felt like a king of a kingdom made of ash. He had the number he always wanted, but he had lost his voice, his reputation, and his love for the craft. In trying to look like a leader, he had become a ghost among ghosts.

It was a house of cards. Leo spent his mornings managing a fake digital empire. He was terrified of being "found out." He stopped going to local meetups because he was afraid someone would ask why his 20,000 followers (he’d bought more to "balance" the ratio) didn't seem to exist in the real world.

Leo sat in his dark apartment, the blue light of his phone etching lines into his face. He looked at his profile.

For a week, the high lasted. He walked a little taller. He even landed a small contract with a local cafe that admitted they liked his "reach." But then, the rot set in.